welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here is a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. chinese officials are increasing the alert for acts of terrorism as they prepare for an important communist party meeting in beijing. a just paper has released a further report on classified documents from a former nsa contractor. it says japan may be among countries spied on by the u.s.. and residents of the resort

city of sochi are in a whirl of activity three months ahead of the winter olympics. chinese officials are tightening security in beijing ahead of a key meeting. the increased measures follow last week's fatal car crash near tiananmen square which the government teamdeemed an act of terror. officials have been ordered to quash acts of terrorism in the planning stage. the website shed quo inspected police boxes in the capital on monday. he urged police officers to increase their visibility so citizens will feel safer and said china faces a tough fight against terrorism. he called for extra vigilance. last week a sport utility vehicle veered into a crowd of tourists and burst into flames. three passengers were killed along with two by stapders. chinese authorities arrested five in connection with the

skept. all are believed to be members of the uighur minority group. the third plenary is due to start on saturday. china's leaders have lashed out at foreign observers on their views of the tiananmen square crash. u.s. state department personnel say they're carrying out their own investigations. >> we're going to tip to monitor the situation and look into exactly what happened before we make a broader statement. >> chinese shortauthorities say crash was ekt corrected with the east turkistan islamic movement, but sources have pointed out the group is not very active and they say it boasts few links to international organizations. the "new york times" says japan was among the countries spied on by the u.s. national security agency. the allow that has already drawn in germany and brazil looks likely to intense guy. nhk world reports.

>> reporter: apg la merkel reacted angrily last month to aenkss that her phone had been tapped by the u.s. intel against service. >> translator: trust has been deeply damaged and needs to be restored. >> reporter: and there was a similar reaction after being named as a target of american wiretapping. she has secretly canceled a planned visit to the u.s.. there has been a parade of protests from world leaders after former nsa contractor edward snowden revealed confidential documents about u.s. spying activities. a report in the "new york times" on saturday says japan was no exception. the paper says a document obtained from snowden dated 2007 says that nsa conducted surveillance on japan. the goal was to learn of any

technology that could threaten u.s. security and to seek an economic advantage. the report claimed nsa routinely intercepts communications by nations friendly to the u.s., including japan, south korea, britain and australia, it does so using facilities in american embassies and military bases. >> translator: any act that could damage trust between friendly countries including us as allies is not desirable. we don't want to believe this kind of report. >> reporter: u.s. secretary of state john kerry admitted last thursday that his country's surveillance had gone too far in some cases. but he stressed many terrorist attacks were prevented as a result. criticism from inside and

outside the u.s. is mounting every time a new snowden revelation appears. and still the international community waits for an explanation from the white house. nhk world. an executive of japan's ruling party has suggested the government may not be able to chief its decontamination goal for areas near the crippled fukushima die which i nuclear plant. he hinted the government may need to review its target.which plant. he hinted the government may need to review its target. liberal democratic party cited a report submitted by the atomic energy agency to the japanese government. the report said the international standard for radiation exposure ranges between 1 and 20 millisieverts per year. the japanese government has set a goal of 1 mill seef earths a

year. it calls for government officials to make it clear to people living near the plant. he says the japanese government should carefully analyze the team's recommendations and study decontamination standards in other countries. >> translator: it's not desirable for people affected by the situation to be without the prospect of hope of change. >> he said the government should hold a serious debate over how to improve the situation. japanese officials are looking to set up future safe guards for nuclear power, they're getting help from washington over a new risk assessment system. japanese deputy foreign minister met in washington with u.s. deputy secretary of centering. they were attending a second meeting of a nuclear safety

commission. they set up the body last year following the accident at the fukushima plant. japanese officials propose using a u.s. model that computes the proebts of a nuclear plant accident. the system quantity guys tag torss like natural disasters, malfunctions and human errors to determine high risk areas. experts there both sides put their heads together on how to implement the system in japan. thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half of fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people in northeastern japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster. but step by step, they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on the road ahead, right here on "newsline".

a chinese government think tank says air pollution may not just cause heart and respiratory problems, but also harm human reproductive systems. the chinese academy of social sciences says that between january and october, major cities across china had an average of 30 days of smog. that's the worst level since measurements began in the acads the growing use of fossil fuels and lists less rain and weaker winds.d the academy says the ca the growing use of fossil fuels and lists less rain and weaker winds. the academy says the cau the growing use of fossil fuels and lists less rain and weaker winds.the academy says the caus the growing use of fossil fuels and lists less rain and weaker winds. last month the world health organization said for the first time that pm 2.5 is a carcinogen. the who says in 2010 more than 200,000 people died from lung cancer caused by air pollution. 200,000 people died from lung cancer caused by air pollution. egypt's ousted president has gone on trial. morsi faces charges of inciting

murder. >> reporter: the opening of the trial marked the first time morsi has been in public since military leaders overthrew him. morsi took over last year, but military generals removed him in july after protests erupted across the country. demonstrators took to the streets to express frustration over a worsening economy and deteriorating security. prosecutors say morsi ordered his supporters to use force against opponents staging a sit-in last december. at least five people were killed. morsi struck a defiant tone at the trial. he rejected the court's authority refusing to wear a prison jump suit and calling himself president of the

republic. hundreds of supporters gathered outside the courthouse. members of his political base called for nationwide progress. the more the government pushes us down, the stronger and more united we become. security personnel fired tear gas and detained some of the demonstrators. court officials adjourneded t t trial after two hours. they're expected to resume the proceedings in january. the members of the interim president have been trying to stabilize the country. military leaders have cracked down on the muslim brotherhood. but morsi supporters have vowed not to give up.

more than 850 people have been killed across egypt since july. nhk world. sales haven't been quite as risk as the automakers would have hoped. there are quite a few hurdles to overcome before the vehicles become more mainstream, so they're seeing benefits now in teaming up. nissan and mitsubishi are considering joining hands. renault might also take part in the project. they began producing electric vehicles ahead of others, but sales have remained far below expectations. last year electric cars accounted for less than 1% of domestic new car sales and that was due to a limited battery life and shortage of recharging facilities. the two japanese makers are hoping to cut development costs

and increase competitiveness through the joint project. ajinomoto is forming a firm to expand sales. they announced the agreement in tokyo on tuesday. ajinomoto will by a 50% stake for more than $29 million. the turkish firm has been making seasonings and other products for nearly 100 years, but also exports to 20 countries in the region. they have been trying to strengthen its overseas business. it's currently doing business in about 130 countries, but doesn't have marketing channels in the middle east and central asia. let's get a check of the markets starting with currencies. investors are focusing on the european central bank policy meeting. the euro fell to a three week low against the yen. currently changes hands at 132.62 roughly. market players are waiting to

see whether ecb president draghi will give any signals will a rate cut. meanwhile dollar yen is being quoted at 98.29. investors are also waiting for key economic data like initial third quarter gdp as well as the late he gost jobs report. traders are also taking a step back. major benchmarks in europe are all lower. earlier asian shares closed mixed. shanghai composite rose .3%. tokyo's nikkei average finished up nearly .2%. japan's government has come up with a bill to establish economic deregulation zones, part of the growth strategy aimed at attracting investment.

it calls for the establishment of an advisory panel with the prime minister as its chief. it will determine which regions to designate as special zones. the big specifies five bills for deregulation, employment, medical care, agriculture, education and urban redevelopment. for medical care, the bill will allow for more than beds in hospitals that provide advanced medical services on hopes the zones will become hubs for global medical services. for urban redevelopment, the bill will allow high rise condominiums to be built bigger and taller. the government would shoulder some of the interest rates on loans taken out to operate in a special zone. the government aims to have the bill passed in the current session of the diet and have several zones designated as early as january. the bank of japan's bold credit easing policy has sent its monetary base to a record high for an eighth consecutive month. the central bank says the amount of money it applies to the markets totaled more than $1.9 trillion at the end of october,

but represents a 2.3% increase in yen terms from september. the monetary base has grown 30% since the end of last month, just before the boj began introducing massive easing measures. the bank is trying to double the monetary base in two years and pull the country out of a long period of deflation. it depends on whether the growing supply of hone will lead to stepped up bank lending to both businesses and individuals. a just hedge fund has agreed to pay the largest financial penalty in u.s. history for insider trading. s.a.p. capital advisers run by teach cohen was charged with securities fraud for system he cannily making illegal use of corporate insider information. s.a.c. initially denied criminal wrongdoing, but federal process kurt tors announced the hedge fund has now admitted to the charges and agreed to pay the fines. they will be banned from offering investment advice.

steven cohen is known as one of the most successful investors in the united states. his fund has reported 30% on average over the last 20 years. that will wrap it up for biz tonight. i'll leave you with a check of the markets. organizers of russia's first winter olympics have seen costs

run up as time winds down. they have just three months to make sure everything is ready for the games in sochi. nhk reports. >> reporter: i am now standing at the top of the hotel in sochi. the temperature here is about 20 degrees celsius. it's surprisingly warm. behind me, you can see the ice dome, the venue for the ice hockey. it can hold up to 12,000 people. beyond the stadium lies the black sea. the beach and relatively good climate have that sochi a popular resort since soviet times. and now it will soon be an olympic host. let's take a look. the olympic venues are divided in to two parts. the mountain and coastal areas.

this is the mountain cluster where alpine events will be held. a new railway lengths tinks the areas. this system will serve as the venue for opening and closing ceremonies. with time getting short, construction crews are working day and night to complete some of the other venues. sochi has long been family us for its hot springs. many leaders spend their holidays here, including josef stalin. ever since it was chosen to host for the olympics, sochi has been undergoing a major facelift. a group of volunteers is studying english in preparation for the arrival of the olympic

tourists. excuse me, why are you studying english? >> communication. >> i hope to study english better. in three months about, people from all world comes to my town and we must ready. >> reporter: not every in so he schi happy about the games. police complain how prices of almost everything has soared. the less wealthy are hurting. >> new apartments sold for unusually high prices for a small russian up to by sochi.

this condominium with three bedrooms is on sale for $2 million. the average price of property has risen by 30%. even high end properties sold quickly. >> translator: even after the olympics, i think the demand for property will continue. >> reporter: consumer prices have jumped 15% since the announcement sochi was hosting the games. since then, the prices have risen steady. >> translator: prices keep increasing. originally everything was expensive already. >> translator: it's terrible. in the city you just cannot live normally. >> reporter: and this woman cleans buildings in order to survive. she buys the cheapest vegetables on the market and grows her own at home because living expenses have soared.

>> translator: everything is so expensive and they say it will be more. i don't know where to look for cheap stuff anymore. thanks to olympics, our life is very difficult now. >> reporter: anna says she's even thinking of leaving sochi to live elsewhere. >> reporter: russia has hosted the games before. its first and only summer olympics in moscow was back in 1980. but because of the soviet invasion of afghanistan, many countries boycotted. that's why many russians see in sochi a chance to regain confidence. a russian described the feeling to me. he used an old russia saying that means he will be proud and ready like a dog with a straightened tail. nhk world, sochi.

a strong tropical storm is approaching the philippines and robert speta has been following the situation for us. robert. >> gene, this really is going to be not only strong, potentially very severe storm system as it pulls off towards the west. right now towards the south of guam, we have our severe tropical storm pulling off towards the west, but you can see on the satellite imagery on tuesday already the symmetrical shape starting to form, the cloud cover rotating. and through the next 48 hour, we'll see a gradual intensification. after it passes and brings gusty winds address high waves, it will then move toward the philippines likely making landfall by friday morning as severe to potentially violent typhoon with winds over 200 kilometers per hour. you're looking at damaging winds and potentially destructive. if it does make landfall with

the winds that high, we're looking at very risky and also potentially life threatening storm system later on this week into the weekend. so definitely want to watch out for this, not just the winds bringing in the storm surge, but the heavy rainfall. accumulation outlook shows over 200 millimeters across philippines and manila. so very serious risk of flooding and landslides. you want to watch it throughout the rest of the week. definitely the main story out here. and if you are near coastal areas, you want to be making preparations now. but you can see it extends farther toward the west. this is a separate storm system. is this this is a tropical depression that brought a couple tornadoes. ten injuries due to those. now it's pulling out toward the west expected to bring rainfall along southern vietnam. flooding and land slides here, as well. so a lot going on in the tropics. but i also want to talk about what's going on off towards the

north. high pressure is dominating. that will be replaced by a low pressure area with this trough extending off of it moving into korea and western japan throughout the day here on wednesday. some widespread rain showers. and even in on tokyo by thursday, morning specifically, you'll be seeing some rain showers and really just a gloomy day on tap. for wednesday, high of 19, partly cloudy skies. beijing at 17, but take a look for you just making it up to the freezing mark here for your high going through mid week. now let's take a look towards the americas. while we have several areas we want to keep an eye on here, it's all associated with one big storm system. we have a low pressure area starting to develop there just towards the east of the rockies. this is going to bring severe weather and even snowfall with it. out ahead of it, we have this moisture surging in from the south, widespread rain showers, especially severe weather in the lower mississippi river valley, risk of flash flooding not to mention strong to severe thunderstorms. behind it, this cold air is

surging in and that is also fueling up the severe weather, that colder air interacting with the warmer southerly winds. we're looking at 5 to 10 centimeters across the northern plains, dakotas, nebraska and not to mention the temperatures really cooling off out here. if you are in the upper midwest over towards the northern plains and central canada, have a winter jacket ready. it will feel like the heart of winter. winnipeg with a high of zero, denver 1 here, snowfall there for you. also feeling the severe weather, 1, take a look at houston, 26. so a big difference here across much of the central portions of the americas. but that's a look at your world weather. here is your extended forecast.

fans of beaujolais nouveau wine have been waiting to taste this year's vintage. the first shipment has arrived in japan. a plane carrying about 15,000 bottles flew from paris. customs officers cleared the cargo for entry. wine makers make the red wine from newly harvested grapes. importers say this year's grapes are full of flavor due to good summer weather. >> translator: this year's beaujolais nouveau has a rich aroma and dense fruity taste. >> sales begin worldwide on november 21st. about 8.5 million bottles are due to arrive at airports across japan in coming weeks. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk

world, thanks for joining us. have a great day wherever you are. >> a minute of silence.

employees paid tribute to to journalists at rfi killed in northern mali on friday. the bodies were repatriated early on this morning. total victory over the rebels. triumphant announcement from the democratic republic of congo. it has ended its rebellion. we have liftoff. india makes history, becoming the first asian nation to send a rocket on the 300-day long journey to mars. that rocket is now in orbit